Now comes the bill for legal fees
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Catholic orchard owner prevails in civil rights suit after city barred him from farmers market
A federal district court ruled Monday in favor of a Michigan fruit farmer who was ousted from a local farmer's market after he said he wouldn't host same-sex weddings at his farm. The decision may signal the end of what has been a six-year legal battle.
Steve Tennes, owner of Country Mill Farms, sued East Lansing in 2017 after officials chose to exclude him from the city's farmers market. Tennes, a devout Catholic, apparently was targeted by city officials after saying on Facebook that he follows the Catholic Church’s teachings about marriage, including when he participates in weddings at his family’s farm.
On Monday, a U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Michigan ruled that Tennes and his family were improperly "forced to choose between following their religious beliefs and a government benefit for which they were otherwise qualified."
The court said the city of East Lansing violated the Tennes' free exercise rights protected in the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. "The reason is simple: denying a person an equal share of the rights, benefits, and privileges enjoyed by other citizens because of her faith discourages religious activity," the ruling states.
Country Mill Farms is a 120-acre, second-generation family farm in Charlotte, Michigan. Steve and his wife, Bridget Tennes, are both U.S. military veterans and served four years on active duty.
Since 2010, Country Mill sold organic produce and other products at the East Lansing Farmer's Market. But in 2017, the city adopted a new policy that used a discretionary system of individual assessments to "target" Country Mill, according to the lawsuit filed by lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
Country Mill is located in Charlotte, 22 miles from East Lansing, and well outside the city’s boundaries and jurisdiction, the lawsuit says.
The decision by East Lansing officials came after Tennes on Aug. 24, 2016, shared in a Facebook post that – based on his Catholic belief that marriage is a sacramental union between one man and one woman – he honors his religious belief when hosting and participating in weddings at Country Mill.
East Lansing has defended its position in court, but through a six-year legal battle has continually lost. Fox News Digital asked the city whether it plans to appeal Monday's decision, but did not receive an answer in time for publication.
… Tennes says he looks forward to putting the legal battle behind him, and serving people "of all backgrounds" at the farmer's market and at his farm.
It’s a lower court decision and could be appealed, but East Lansing’s are surely aware of the Civil Rights Attorneys Fees Act of 1976 — “Section 1988 fees” — that can be, and usually are awarded to successful plaintiffs in these suits regardless of any monetary damages awarded. As Oberlin College recently learned, that can be a real bitch, and the first rule of holes is that, when you’re stuck in one, stop digging.
